Automatic fly-chaser and door-closer.



J. J. HURT.

AUTOMATIC FLY CHASER AND DOOR CLOSER. APPLICATION FILED AUGJB, m5.

1,217,31 1. Patented Feb., 27, 1917.

AUTOMATIC FLY-CHASER AND DOOR-CLOSER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 2'7, 1917.

Application filed August 18, 1915. Serial No. 46,192;

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOEL J. HURT, a citi-V zen of the United States, residing at South Omaha, in the county of Douglas and State of Nebraska, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Fly- Chasers and Door-Closers, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention comprehends certain newand useful improvements in combined auto matic fly fans or chasers and door stops. or closers, and the invention has for its primary object a Very durable and efficient de vice of this character, the parts of which are so arranged that a continuous current of air will be created upon the opening ofthe door in a direction to prevent the ingress of flies into the room andto tend to carryout of the room any flies that might have previously found access thereto, means being provided whereby upon the opening of the door, the fan will be rotated at a high speed in the required direction and will continue to run in that direction by its own momentum, even upon the subsequent closing movement of the door, and without there being any reverse movement of the fan at all, which would obviously tend to draw the flies back into the room and detract from the eiiiciency of the device.

A further object of the invention is an improved construction of device of this character which will not only act as a fly chaser, but also as means for automatically closing the door after the latterhas beenreleased and wherein the parts are so constructed and arranged that they may be easily manufactured, and readily assembled and not liable to get out of order.

A still further object of the invention is a device of this 'kind in which the post which carries the operating-parts is so con nected to the main support'or bracket that the parts may be angularly adjusted, as required, whereby the-fan may be positioned at the desired point to" secure the best results.

And the invention also aims togenerally improve devices of this class so as to render them more useful and commercially desir able.

With these and other objects in view, as will more fully appear as the description proceeds, the invention, consists in certain constructions, arrangements and; combina tions of the parts that I shall hereinafter fully describe and claim.

For a full understanding of the invention, reference is to be had to the following do scription and accompanying drawing, in which,

Figure 1 isa side elevation of my combined fly chaser and automatic door closer, parts being shown in section, and one of the fan blades broken away for lack of space.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view illustrating partly in section and partly in elevation the clutch mounting-for the master gear wheel of the device, and 1 Fig. 3 is a front view, on a reduced scale, showing one application of the invention.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and desig nated' in all of the views of the accompanying drawing by like reference characters.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral 1 designates the main support of my device designed to be secured'tothe door jamb or casing at any desired elevation, preferably at about the top of the door, said support in the present instance being in the form of a bracket or bar with screw holes to receive fastening devices, and having formed on one face thereof outstanding ears 2, spaced from each other and designed to receive a pivot pin or bolt 3. i i 4 designates the post which carries the operating parts of the device. This post is provided at one end with a head 5 received in between the ears 2, thepivot 3 passing through an opening formed in the head 5, and the parts being thus so connected that the post may be adjusted angularly, as required, relative to the support 1.

The post 4c is provided with an upwardly projecting stem 6 which extends through one end of a main spring casing 7 within which the actuating spring 8 is mounted, one end of said spring being secured in any desired way to the stem 6, and the other or inner end of the spring being secured in any desired way to one end of a shaft 9 which e2;- tends .in through an opening formed in the casing at the center thereof, as shown, and is mounted for rotatable movement about its longitudinal axis within a sleeve-like bearing 10 which is carried by the post 4 intermediate of the ends of the latter.

Mounted upon the shaft 9 and fixedly held thereon is a clutch member 11 of the spring-roller and bevel-recess type, and revolubly mounted upon the periphery of the clutch member 11 is a master gear wheel 12, it being thus understood that this wheel is permitted to turn in one direction independently of the shaft (that is, overrun the shaft), but will be held to turn with the shaft when the latter moves in the oppo site direction, as is customary with clutches of this kind. The gear wheel 12 is held in position in between the disks 13, one of said disks abutting against a set collar lt on the shaft.

A pulley 15 is held by a set-screw or the like on the other end of the shaft 9, where it protrudes from the lower end of the bearing 10, and a flexible connecting member 16, such as a leather strap, cable or the like, is adapted to be wound upon the grooved pulley 15, and fastened thereto at one end, the other end of said connecting member being fastened to the door in any desired way.

Meshing with the gear teeth of the wheel 12 is a pinion 17, secured to one end of a fan shaft 18 mounted in a sleeve-bearing 19 carried by the post 4.- at the outer or free end of the latter, said fan shaft 18 being disposed in parallel relation to the drive shaft 9 and carrying, on its lower end, the fan 20, which may be secured thereto in any desired way and provided with any desired number of blades.

From the foregoing description, in connection with the accompanying drawing the operation of my improved automatic fly chaser and door closer will be apparent. In the practical use of the device, it is secured to the door jamb or casing and one end of the cable or other flexible connecting member is secured to the door. Consequently, whenever the door is opened, the drive shaft 9 will be turned and will carry the gear wheel 12 with it, said gear wheel transmitting a vary rapid motion to the fan shaft 20 through the instrumentality of the pinion 17, and rapidly rotating the fan 20. It is to be particularly noted that, owing to the construction and arrangement of the parts hereinbefore described, the gear wheel 12 will not stop when the connecting member 16 ceases to be drawn open, but will continue to rotate under its own momentum and thus a continuous current of air will be created upon the opening of the door, the parts oppermitted to act, and the door will be automatically closed.

lVhile the accompanying drawing illustrates what I believe to be the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited there to, but that various changes may be made in the construction, arrangement and proper tions of the parts without departing from the scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed, is:

1. In a device of the character described, a support, a driving shaft rotatably mounted in the support, a pulley operatively mounted upon the driving shaft and having means whereby it may be operatively connected to a door to be revolved in one direction thereby, a spring operatively mounted upon the support having one end fixedly connected and the other end operatively connected to the driving shaft whereby it may be tensioned upon a rotation of the driving shaft in one direction and will tend to rotate thedriving shaft in the opposite direction to thereby close the door, an annu lar gear wheel loosely mounted upon the driving shaft, a member mounted upon the driving shaft and disposed within said an nular gear wheel and having a clutch connecting with the gear wheel for movement in one direction only, a fan shaft mounted upon said support, a pinion engaging the fan shaft and engaged by said gear wheel, and a fan mounted upon the fan shaft.

2. In a device of the character described, a bracket, a supporting arm pivotally mounted upon the bracket and having an upwardly extending post, a sleeve mounted in the bracket, a driving shaft passing through the sleeve, a pulley mounted upon the lower end of the driving shaft, a nut holding the pulley in place, a coil spring having one end operatively connected to the post on the bracket and the other end operatively connected to the upper end of the driving shaft, an annular gear wheel through which the driving shaft passes, a clutch mounted upon the driving shaft and adapted to engage with the gear wheel upon a rotation of the driving shaft in one direction but disengage therefrom upon a rotation in the opposite direction, a sleeve mounted in the outer end of the bracket, a driven shaft passing through said sleeve, a pinion on the driven shaft engaging said gear wheel, and a fan on the lower end of the driven shaft.

3. A device of the character described including a supporting bracket having an upwardly extending post, a sleeve loosely disposed in the bracket and extending below it,

a driving shaft rotatably mounted in the sleeve and extending above it, a pulley carried upon the lower end of the driving shaft and abutting against the sleeve, a member on the driving shaft detachably holding the pulley in place, a spring coiled around the upper end of the driving shaft and operatively connected thereto at one end, the other end of the spring being detachably connected to the post, an annular gear wheel loosely surrounding the driving shaft, a clutch member mounted on the driving shaft for rotation therewith and having operative engagement with the gear wheel upon a rotation of the driving shaft in one direction but releasing said gear wheel upon a rotation in the opposite direction, disks loosely surrounding the driving shaft and disposed on each side of the gear wheel and the clutch member and holding the 20 clutch member and the gear wheel in alinement, a driven shaft mounted upon the end of the bracket, a pinion carried by said driven shaft and engaged by the gear wheel. and a fan mounted upon the driven shaft.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiiX my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

. JOEL J. HURT Witnesses:

JOSEPH F. MURPHY,

Dnssm ROBINSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

